In the Shade of Life
by Regien
Summary: <html><head></head>An analysis of life through the "eyes" of a certain species. Please read, and reviews would be appreciated.</html>


Somewhere in a forest, a discarded husk opens its eyes. It does not breathe, it does not move, but instead only looks around. A few feet away, a person and some kind of insect stare at the shell. The human looks on, indifferent, while the bug has an expression that resembles disgust on its face – Or what can be seen of it through the golden mask. After a few seconds, they turn their backs on the husk, and leave its field of sight.

It wonders what it is, and what it looks like. It holds no memories from its previous life as an insect confined to the ground – Its first memory is of just moments ago, waking up in the forest. As it observes its surroundings, it tries to move, and succeeds in surprising itself, realising it can fly. However, as it rises to the air, no sound is made due to the fact that its wings do not move. In fact, it cannot move any part of its body independently, as it levitates due to some ethereal force. If you were to ask it how it moves in words it could understand, it could not tell you.

The former insect contemplates where it is. The only thing it can tell is that this is a forest, however it does not know where. A pleasant breeze flows through the trees and into the creature through the hole in its back, and upon feeling this it realises it is hollow. This is reinforced by the fact that it can feel the breeze escaping through the protrusions on its face that it can somehow see out of, despite lacking organs.

It floats through the forest, seeking for something that could maybe tell it who it is, or why it's here. As it moves, it sees small creatures here and there, none of which it can recognise. None of them are willing to approach it, and instead they all flee from it as it comes closer. The creature wonders why nothing will come near it as it approaches a small pond in a clearing.

Peering into the surface of the water, a brown, crumbling shell stares back. The two bumps that act as eyes have a single slit in each, and two decrepit, useless wings protrude from its back. What draws its attention, however, is the halo that floats above its head which has a gap in it. It contemplates what a halo would be doing adorning it, but then it realises that it must be dead. It makes sense to the shell, as that would be the reason why it had been discarded, left as the empty husk that had been used by the flying insect that accompanied the human.

Disheartened, the creature moves on, looking for a reason to be here. It tries to get close to any living thing, to talk to them, but they just run away. It cannot hear them, but it only needs to see them flee to understand it isn't wanted. It looks for an exit to the forest, in the hopes that something in the world outside will accept it.

Once out of the forest, sun cracks the shell and causes it to flake. It doesn't feel it, but as it floats towards the children on the beach nearby, small fragments break off from the shell and fall to the ground. One child turns and sees it coming towards them, and points it out to the other children. He takes a step back, and runs towards the city a short distance away. All the rest of the children follow, and the husk is left once again on its own.

It levitates itself into the city, and when the single person who walks outside spots it, they quickly run inside a house that is presumably theirs. As it looks in each window, it can only catch a quick glance of the interior of their respective buildings before curtains are quickly drawn shut. Looking for somewhere else it can try, it spots a big, red building that stands out against all the houses. It goes towards it, but once there, it cannot operate the swing doors. Instead, it can only look through into a world it can never enter – A world full of thriving Pokemon and people.

Frustrated, the husk leaves the city and begins to travel. It searches, but for what, it cannot determine. Though it passes through several cities, it does not attempt to approach any living creatures, as every time they see it, they simply run away without even stopping to think about it. Not one single person tries to reach out for it – They have no time for the empty shell with the halo.

Eventually, it finds what it's been looking for after several weeks of travelling. Due to the fact it does not require sustenance, the shell was able to continue without stopping for anything. After searching endlessly, it finds a volcano on the northern edge of the continent, still very much active. As it approached the crater, it feels its thin body begin to warp and fall apart, and though it will soon stop functioning, it feels no pain. It brings itself slowly towards the lava, and charred, ruined remnants of the husk fall down and become incinerated. As it has no organs, it cannot fully determine the moment when its life ends, if whatever it had could have been called life. In the last moments it has to think, one last question stirs in its mind – Why was it brought into existence?


End file.
